We recently hosted a dog trainer panel discussion over in our free facebook group with several members of our Trainer's Growth Group - Brianne Harris, Crystal Partain, Janet Parker and Liz MacHaffie! We talked about how they got to where they are today and what's...
When you work for yourself, you’re not just a dog trainer… you’re a business owner. And that means doing a whole lot more than just training dogs.
Yet so often, even when we have the best of intentions, the tasks that need to happen for our business that aren’t directly related to the work we need to do every day for our clients — things like marketing, answering emails, or reconciling receipts — fall by the wayside. We know they’re important. We know they need to happen. Yet they never seem to get done.
That’s fine… for a while. But when those types of tasks get put off for too long, problems begin to emerge.
Your goal with your business is to help people and their dogs… which can make it easy to fall into bad habits, and incredibly hard to set boundaries and stick to them. And that’s dangerous.
We've heard it a lot lately — "I'm booked solid right now! My next available appointment isn't for 3 months or more... Should I keep signing people up?" If this is you, know you're not alone. Whether it's an influx of pandemic puppies or just an increased awareness of...
Email marketing, unlike social media, allows you to regularly connect with the same clients in a controlled and customizable way. And unlike most social media, most businesses don’t need to send out a newsletter everyday to see results. There’s no constant video-creating, tweeting, updating or pinning involved.
We’ve all been there.
I know I certainly have — someone asks you what you do for a living, and you describe running your own business in a way that makes it sound downright cushy. You make your own hours! Unlimited time off! Only have to work with people you like!
…and you conveniently leave off all the “hard parts.”
You know, the long hours, overwhelming email inbox, and times when it takes 8 conversations just to schedule a single client lesson. The part where your boss (aka you!) has unrealistic expectations about how much can be done in a day. Oomph.
Creating new posts, articles, and content to market your business can be... painful. After all, let's face it — as a business owner, you wear a lot of hats. You're the bookkeeper, the dog trainer, the marketer, the customer service team and more. That means when you...
What is marketing, really? And how do you use it to actually get people to BUY the things you have to sell? Whether you're just starting a new dog training business or you've been in the game for a while and are trying to level up, it's a good idea to understand the...
Your website can be a highly effective and engaging tool in your sales process.
But all too often, it’s… well, not. And typically the problem isn’t what most business owners think.
The right tools are like “power ups” in a video game — when you use them efficiently, everything gets easier. Choosing and then using the right ones can help make the admin tasks that drag dog trainers down quick and convenient, while adding a bit of professional...